Florida Teens Head For Latvia - And History As It Happens

CITRA — Fourteen-year-old Sean McLaughlin and his classmates at North Marion Middle School are scanning headlines about the Soviet Union these days with the intensity of national security advisors.

Their interest is not for your run-of-the-mill school report or current-events quiz, however.

McLaughlin and nine other eighth-graders are packing this week for Latvia, the least turbulent of the Soviet Union's rebellious Baltic republics.

''It seems so unreal now,'' Sean said recently. ''The only time I can really pinch myself is when I'm on the plane, because it's so enormous.''

When school officials began planning the trip, their second Soviet expedition in two years, no one knew that the Baltic republics were about to mount a fierce push for independence from Moscow.

Although the 10 students, four teachers and principal will spend most of their time in Adazi, a quiet Latvian town far from the political tension in neighboring Lithuania and Estonia, their plans have been affected by the political turmoil.

Soviet officials have already returned the Floridians' visa applications once. The official reason was that some of the documents had not been properly trimmed, but U.S. officials suggested the real reason may have been the mention of a side trip to Lithuania, where travel by foreigners was recently restricted.

So the school deleted any mention of Lithuania, trimmed the papers and resubmitted the applications. As of Friday the school was still waiting for its visas, but it is not unusual for the Soviets to issue travel visas at the last minute.

School officials remain confident the Soviets will not force the Marion County group to cancel its trip. They are also soothing nervous parents who each day see news reports about the open revolt in Lithuania and the stirrings of dissent in Estonia and, just last week, Latvia.

''I think we're going at a very challenging time,'' said Brian Bailey, a science teacher and member of the group.

The trip is a lot more than sightseeing and souvenirs for the Marion County eighth-graders and their teachers. It has meant months of competition - 88 students applied to go - and extra studying.

One afternoon last month, for instance, trip participants were still huddled over Russian textbooks in the library an hour after the final bell. Instructor Bill Hunt dictated a tough pop quiz, then made sure the students knew the phrases for telling people where they're from and warning them that they don't speak Russian.

In addition to the twice-weekly Russian lessons, students and teachers have put in many hours learning songs, studying Russian grammar at home and helping out with fund-raising events.

The students have even learned the Latvian national anthem, ''God Bless Latvia,'' though they stumble a bit over the tongue-twisting Latvian syllables. Even Russian, which is widely spoken in the Baltic republics, is apparently easier to pronounce than Latvian.

The extra effort, which includes additional schoolwork to make up for missing three weeks of classes, will be worth it, say the students, who speak enthusiastically about flying on an airplane, seeing foreign cities and doing their bit for world peace.

''I want to learn about a different culture and lifestyle, because there are so many stereotypes,'' Jolie Akins, 13, said.

The group plans to leave April 17 for Moscow, the first leg of the journey, before continuing on to Riga, the capital of Latvia. The students are to attend classes for about two weeks at the Adazi Township School about 12 miles from the capital.

Although some details will not be settled until the group arrives in Adazi, school principal Rudy J. Bedford said the Floridians hope to travel to Leningrad, Estonia and the Polish city of Poznan before returning home on a flight from Warsaw May 7.

North Marion Middle School, set in rural, rolling hills north of Ocala, first embraced glasnost about two years ago with a zeal probably unmatched by any middle school in the nation.

A school project to administer a Soviet physical education test evolved into a 10-day trip for a group of eighth-graders to Moscow, Leningrad and Riga. Bedford said it was the first such U.S.-Soviet exchange to involve middle-school students.

Nine Soviet students made a reciprocal visit last year, spending about two weeks in Citra.

The U.S. school was invited to make this second trip to the Soviet Union by the head of the Adazi school, who was part of last year's Soviet delegation to Citra.

The first trip required a long series of fund-raising events, including barbecues and bowl-a-thons, to cover the $30,000 in expenses.

This time, however, a $30,000 grant from the U.S. Information Agency will cover most of the expenses. According to Bailey, who wrote the grant proposal, North Marion was the only middle school in the nation to capture a grant from the USIA program.

Supporters have also raised about $10,000 more to cover other expenses, such as the reception planned for the Soviets when they return to Citra for a three-week visit this fall.

While they wait for their visas, the 10 students are impatiently counting the days and packing donated gifts - ranging from yo-yos to vials of perfume - to take to their Soviet hosts.

Parents may be a little uneasy about sending their children to Latvia as Soviet tanks are rolling into Lithuania, but the students are delighted.